In winter

A child when grown is to thatch 
a roof over his old parents' heads, 
is to weave a shawl across the thin 
skin holding in their shoulders. 
A child is to stay ghost-like and serve 
in the final years leading to their deaths. 
In winter, rare sight of a wading bird 
anchored against the frozen tide 
by one bent leg--- She is an ideogram 
of go and stay, sweet water and salt. 
I can't read the current that swirls 
underneath the cold surface.